How to create your own podcast

Everybody, it seems, has a podcast these days. The iTunes Store alone boasts “hundreds of thousands” of them. And that’s just a fraction of the overall total.

One big reason there are so many podcasts is that it’s never been easier to produce one. All you need is a microphone and a bit of software, and you too can be an online radio star. Well, that and a bit of know-how.

That last bit is what we’re hoping to provide. We asked four podcasters we know to tell us how they do it: How they prepare, capture, edit, and then share their programs.

Two of those podcasters are on the Macworld staff: Senior Editor Christopher Breen (who produces the regular Macworld Podcast) and Editorial Director Jason Snell (who in his copious spare time produces a personal podcast called The Incomparable). We also asked the folks who produce a couple of our favorite non-Macworld podcasts. Strictly by chance, they’re both about Doctor Who, the British sci-fi series: Erika Ensign (Verity!) and Chip Sudderth (The Two-Minute Time Lord). (Can’t imagine why Macworld staffers would have a thing for Doctor Who.)

While their topics may be similar, these podcasters all have different ways of going about their business. (Special note: Erika Ensign goes as far as to use a Dell laptop to edit hers, but we thought her techniques would still be interesting to those using Apple equipment.) The point being, there’s no one right way to do a podcast. You can figure out a workflow that works for you, as fancy (or simple) as you wish. The real secret is that there’s no secret at all. Almost anyone can do it. Why not you?

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